Our 2017 Emirates Stakes Day Album

It's hard to believe it's already been a month since the 2017 Melbourne Cup Carnival came to a close....good thing I'm finally penning this entry! Emirates Stakes Day has always been my favourite race day - the vibe is relaxed, the fashion - playful and families fill the lawns of Flemington. This year marked our fourth Emirates Stakes with kids in tow and our first as a family of six *inhale, exhale* Surprisingly the day ran relatively smoothly and everyone kept their shoes on! This year we were fortunate to be invited back as guests of Lavazza - the dream marquee for any tired mum who is dependant on caffeine! Chef Adam D'Sylva kept tummies content with an array of delicious dishes and Brunetti's sweets were also devoured by guests (mainly miniature ones) in the Palazzo themed marquee. Our close friend Sandi (aka @kidsfashionblogger) and her two daughters Bella and Gigi joined us in the Lavazza marquee for a catch up and coffee. Her girls wore the sweetest race day looks which (unintentionally) coordinated with my boys suits!

A strong crowd of 68,873 witnessed Damian Lane ride Tosen Stardom to take out the $2 million feature race of the day. However our focus was firmly fixed on the fashions! Family Day 'Fashions on the Field' is a fantastic initiate which has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2004. Having judged Junior and Senior boys categories for the past 3 meets, it was lovely to take a year off official duties and watch the action unfold with my boys from the arena in The Park precinct. A huge congratulations to the junior, senior and family winners on the day - all looked spectacular and duly earned their title! This years judges definitely had their work cut out for them!

When it comes to dressing my little lads for Emirates Stakes day, preparation begins weeks in advance! I love nothing more than seeing my boys in tailored suits, buttonhole's and bowties - they don't mind their 'handsome' make over's either - however given our lifestyle, it's a very rare occurrence! This year's colour scheme was structured around 'colour of the moment' - Red. I fell head over heels with Tevita's bold red Appaman suit and decided it was a must. From there I worked backwards to dress the remainder of our family to tie in accordingly. Metallics also feature throughout our outfits and were lots of fun to experiment with. Silver loafers and Gold chain lapels really set their outfits apart and oozed luxury.I wore an Asilio Dress with gold hardware, stunning The Eternal Hedonist crown and Tony Bianco heels. David looked very dapper in his Jack London Suit and accessories in pops of blue and red.